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cosset

Verb
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

To pamper or coddle. It often suggests overindulgent care rather than simple kindness.

Detailed Definition
In older or literary English, to cosset means to treat something or someone with excessive fondness and attention. Keats uses it to make love sound like a spoiled, overprotected thing rather than a noble feeling.
Example
Example in poetry:
“It is a doll dress’d up / For idleness to cosset, nurse, and dandle” uses cosset as a verb meaning pamper or indulge; Burns’s “To a Mouse” addresses the small creature with tender attention, close to the emotional sense of cosseting; The word can be affectionate, but it may also criticize excessive protection; A contemporary poem might say a parent cossets a seedling, linking care to the risk of preventing resilience
Additional Notes
The verb 'cosset' in the quoted line is a less common literary word that many modern readers may need to look up.; Found in the poem, Modern Love by John Keats
Also Known As
pamper coddle indulge
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